Together We Ride!
by Tokyo the Glaive
Summary: 100 Themes Challenge, FE:A style! All characters will make an appearance!
1. Table of Contents

1. Introduction - In which Lissa is born.  
2. Love - In which Emmeryn finds a friend.  
3. Light  
4. Dark  
5. Seeking Solace  
6. Break Away  
7. Heaven  
8. Innocence  
9. Drive  
10. Breathe Again  
11. Memory  
12. Insanity  
13. Misfortune  
14. Smile  
15. Silence  
16. Questioning  
17. Blood  
18. Rainbow  
19. Gray  
20. Fortitude  
21. Vacation  
22. Mother Nature  
23. Cat  
24. No Time  
25. Trouble Lurking  
26. Tears  
27. Foreign  
28. Sorrow  
29. Happiness  
30. Under the Rain  
31. Flowers  
32. Night  
33. Expectations  
34. Stars  
35. Hold My Hand  
36. Precious Treasure  
37. Eyes  
38. Abandoned  
39. Dreams  
40. Rated  
41. Teamwork  
42. Standing Still  
43. Dying  
44. Two Roads  
45. Illusion  
46. Family  
47. Creation  
48. Childhood  
49. Stripes  
50. Breaking the Rules  
51. Sport  
52. Deep in Thought  
53. Keeping a Secret  
54. Tower  
55. Waiting  
56. Danger Ahead  
57. Sacrifice  
58. Kick in the Head  
59. No Way Out  
60. Rejection  
61. Fairy Tale  
62. Magic  
63. Do Not Disturb  
64. Multitasking  
65. Horror  
66. Traps  
67. Playing the Melody  
68. Hero  
69. Annoyance  
70. 67%  
71. Obsession  
72. Mischief Managed  
73. I Can't  
74. Are You Challenging Me?  
75. Mirror  
76. Broken Pieces  
77. Test  
78. Drink  
79. Starvation  
80. Words  
81. Pen and Paper  
82. Can You Hear Me?  
83. Heal  
84. Out Cold  
85. Spiral  
86. Seeing Red  
87. Food  
88. Pain  
89. Through the Fire  
90. Triangle  
91. Drowning  
92. All That I Have  
93. Give Up  
94. Last Hope  
95. Advertisement  
96. In the Storm  
97. Safety First  
98. Puzzle  
99. Solitude  
100. Relaxation


	2. Introduction

**1/100 - Introduction**

**(From the perspective of Emmeryn at age 9.)**

* * *

Everyone was screaming. The Exalt screamed at the guards at the door to step aside. He screamed more when they said they wouldn't move. Behind the door, mama, and another lady, they were screaming, too. They were screaming for different reasons, though.

I wanted to cover my ears and scream with everyone else, but Chrom was holding my hand so tight I couldn't feel my fingers anymore and I knew he was going to start crying soon and then the Exalt would be angry and we'd all be in trouble.

"It's OK," I said. I sat him on my lap and hugged him. "It's OK."

Chrom leaned against me. "Emm," he said. His body was shaking. "The Exalt scares me."

I held Chrom tight. I hoped the Exalt hadn't heard him. "Shh," I said. "It's OK."

The Exalt cursed. Chrom flinched. I did, too. Chrom started to cry. I held on tight to him and told him that everything would be OK. Mama would be OK. She'd stop screaming and when she came out she'd smile at us and hold us close and tell us, yes, everything was OK.

I hoped that would happen soon. I wanted someone to hold me.

"Emmeryn!" I looked at the Exalt. He was coming at us. Chrom cried more. He stopped in front of us. I didn't know what I'd done wrong.

"Keep your brother quiet," he said. It was an order. "He makes too much noise." Chrom made a noise in his nose. I squeezed him.

"Yes, Your Grace," I answered. It was what I was supposed to say. The Exalt had told me so. "Is mama OK?

The Exalt gave me The Look. I was in trouble now.

"'Her Highness' or 'Milady'," the Exalt said. "'Mama' and 'OK' are crude expressions to be found only in peasant speech. I will not tolerate them within my home."

"But mama—"

"'Her Highness' or 'Milady'."

"—Her Highness said it was OK." I got The Look again. "Her Highness said it was all right."

The Exalt was mad. "I would wager she did. And look who she saw fit to lay with!" He spun around and his cloak spun with him. "That's the only reason why we have to deal with this," he cursed again, "spawn of Grima!" Mama was screaming louder again, and the Exalt went back to scream at the guards at the door.

"I'm scared," Chrom said. Mama and the Exalt and everyone, they were screaming so loud, I could hardly hear him. "I'm scared, Emm. I'm scared."

I held him close. "It's going to be OK." My hands were shaking as I held him. I said it for us both: "It's going to be OK."

I rocked Chrom back and forth, saying that over and over again, until mama stopped screaming. Mama stopped screaming, and the lady in the room with her stopped screaming, and soon the Exalt stopped screaming soon.

Chrom frowned. "What's that?" he asked. Someone else was screaming, and they were screaming very loudly. Then the noise stopped.

The Exalt cursed and left. I didn't know what to do, so I took Chrom to the doors. The guards let us in.

"Mama!" Chrom said. He ran to her, but she didn't pick him up. She was holding something else.

"Are you OK, mama?" I asked. She didn't look OK. Her face was white and her eyes were red and she was crying.

"I'm OK, darling," mama said. She smiled at me. She was shaking. "Come, look."

I picked up Chrom so we both could see. Mama had a tiny baby on her chest. Chrom wiggled in my arms. He was embarrassed.

"Chrom, Emmeryn," mama said, "Meet your little sister."

Chrom wasn't embarrassed anymore. "Little sister!" he said. He reached for her and petted her arm. "Ew, she's wet."

Mama laughed. "She's brand new," she said, "and she's going to need a lot of love. Will you love your sister, children?"

"Yes," Chrom said, "but not when she's gross and-and wet."

I elbowed Chrom. "We will love our sister, mama," I said. "Always."

"What's her name?" Chrom asked.

"Lissa," mama said. "My little Lissa."

I petted Lissa's face. She was sticky and very small. "Little Lissa," I said.

The Exalt was coming. I could hear his footsteps. Mama could probably see him. She did that thing with her body when she saw him, kind of like curling up. I wanted to curl up with her, but Chrom was holding onto my shirt, and there was a little baby now, too. I leaned over with Chrom so that we were both near Lissa and said, "It's OK. It's going to be OK. I love you both. Chrom. Lissa. I love you."

The screaming started again, and Chrom and I put ourselves over Lissa, and even the Exalt couldn't rip us off. Chrom held my hand and I held his. We had a promise to keep. We would love our little Lissa.


	3. Love

**2/100 - Love**

**(Continuation of "Introduction"; from the perspective of Emmeryn at age 10.)**

* * *

The hierophant told me I should not cry. In fact, he said, I should probably never cry in front of anyone again.

"Leaders must be strong," he said. "They are shrewd, decisive, powerful — and above all, accountable to nothing but the final result. Even if the people complain, if the peasants groan about rations and drought, it's all well and good — as long as we win the war. Victory is the most important gift you can give your people." He paused. "'Give' is perhaps not the best word to use; people shouldn't be _given_ anything. They ought to earn it. Don't ever forget that, Your Highn— Exalt Emmeryn."

I thought about what he said as I looked at myself in the mirror. I wanted to cry. Why couldn't I cry? It seemed stupid. I pulled at the fabric around my shoulders. It didn't look right. Nothing looked right. In my reflection, my bottom lip shook.

_Don't cry don't cry don't cry_

"Your people are waiting for you, Exalt Emmeryn." The hierophant wasn't smiling, but he didn't look like he was going to cry, either. He looked very serious, and a little scary. I didn't want to follow him anywhere.

A group of pegasus knights led me to the balcony where the Exalt — my predecessor — once stood. I didn't want to go out there, but I went anyway. I had to. It was my job now that he was gone.

It was so loud out there, I didn't know what was happening. The hierophant was "addressing" the people, but they weren't paying attention. As I got used to the noise, I could see and hear what was happening.

"To hell with you all!"

"We don't want to hear any more of your lies!"

"My son, my _son_—"

"You speak with the tongue of Grima!"

"Monsters, you killed my boy!"

"Down with the monarchy!"

They were very, very mad. I could see spots of fire among the crowd where people had torches. Others carried pitchforks. I could see the faces of some people, even from so high up. Most of them were thin. A lot of them were crying. I felt myself getting ready to cry, too.

"You should address your people now, Exalt Emmeryn." The hierophant put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. It hurt. "This is your realm now."

I stepped up to the space where the hierophant had stood and looked down. The people were shouting at me now. I didn't understand what they were saying. I could hear laughter behind me, from the pegasus knights, and I didn't think that I wanted to know what was being said.

I had no idea what to do. When I couldn't help it anymore, I sat down and cried.

* * *

Some of the knights helped me back inside. I couldn't walk. I couldn't stop crying. I cried even harder when they tried to take me to the master bedroom to sleep.

"I don't want to," I said.

"But you must," the hierophant said. He was even more unhappy now. "Even if you need practice at ruling yet, you should at least pretend to be in control. The Exalt is supposed to sleep in the master bedroom."

"I don't care," I said.

One of the pegasus knights cleared her throat. "Permission to speak, sire?"

"Only if you have a solution to this blasted mess," the hierophant said.

The pegasus knight spoke. "I don't see why Exalt Emmeryn can't be allowed to stay in her room for the time being. The master bedrooms have not even been cleared of the previous Exalt's personal belongings. Surely it would be unkind to force Exalt Emmeryn to face such sad memories alone?"

The hierophant was almost as mad as the people I'd seen from the balcony. I looked at the pegasus knight. She hadn't been one of the ones who had laughed. I held her skirt, and she smiled down at me.

"Very well, have it your way," the hierophant said, waving a hand. "What's your name, woman?"

The pegasus knight stood straight up. "Phila, sire. I command the 3rd Wing Battalion."

The hierophant smiled thinly. "Well then, congratulations, commander, you have just earned yourself a new duty. You are to look after Exalt Emmeryn now. There's much to be done in the coming weeks."

Phila's looked to me. "If you'll have me, Exalt Emmeryn, it would be an honor to serve you." She went down on her knees. I could see into her eyes now: they were deep and red.

I nodded. "Phila?" I asked. "I would be honored to have you."

The hierophant still wasn't happy. "Exalt Emmeryn," he said to me, "I hope that you'll reflect on the spectacle that we were made to witness this past eve. This is the sad truth of all nations: the people do not know a good deal, to use one of their crude expressions, when they see one. They'll come around, in time."

The hierophant left. Phila had stood up. She put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently.

"It's been a long day, Exalt Emmeryn." Her voice was soft, like mama's. "I'll escort you back to your rooms."

I grabbed at her hand as we started to walk, and she held it as tightly as I held hers. "Please don't call me that," I said.

"Beg pardon, Exalt Emmeryn?"

"That. Exalt." I frowned and looked at the tiles on the floor as they passed under my feet.

"Do you not like being called Exalt?" she asked. I shook my head no.

"The Exalt was my… He was my…" I didn't want to say it out loud. I didn't want it at all.

"I see." Phila's voice was what mama would call "even". I held Phila's hand tighter. I was going to start crying again.

Phila stopped. "None of that, now, " she said. She came down on her knees in front of me again and held my face in her hands. "It's going to be OK," she said. "I promise you this: all will be well."

"I miss my mama," I said. The words came out garbled because I was crying.

"I know you do," Phila said, pulling me in close. "I know your heart is heavy, but this is how it must be. You must remember: your mother will be with you in spirit wherever you go."

* * *

Phila saw me tucked into my own bed. She reached across the sheets and pulled them around my shoulders.

"So you don't get cold," she said.

I smiled back at her. "Thank you, Phila."

She pulled back. "Before I take my leave," she said, "begging your pardon, but milady never told me how to address her properly."

"What?"

She shifted her weight. "Earlier, you told me that you wished not to be called 'Exalt Emmeryn'." I nodded. She waited, then asked, "What would you like to be called?"

I didn't know, so I told her so.

Phila thought for a moment. "How about 'Your Grace'?" she asked. I thought it sounded stiff, but then she said, "That is what your mother preferred to be called."

I bit my bottom lip. _Your mother will be with you in spirit wherever you go_. "All right. That sounds perfect, Phila. Thank you."

"I am glad. Now, Your Grace, I take my leave."

"Wait—!"

"Your Grace?"

"It's what the hierophant said," I said.

Phila turned back around to face me. "What did he say?"

"That I had to win the war to be a good leader. That I shouldn't try to make them happy. That real leaders don't cry." I looked at the sheets. "I don't think I can do this."

Phila petted my shoulder. "In the time of your father, the hierophant's view would have been considered correct. But that time has passed. Your Grace, you are a compassionate, caring, loving individual. You are the leader Ylisse needs. You can do this."

"But they were so angry…"

"Sometimes, it's the ones who need the most love who will ask for it in the most unloving of ways. Do not take their anger to heart. The people are starving, and they are scared. They do not know if they will survive the end of the year. They want a leader who will love them enough to listen and bring about peace."

"Love?"

"That's right," Phila said. "Ylisse needs many things, but foremost among them are love and peace."

"They don't want that from me. They hate me."

"They hate what you stand for," Phila said. "They see you standing in your father's shoes. You need to show them that you're more than a warrior."

"How?"

"With love, Your Grace. With love. It won't be easy. They won't change their minds all at once, save by a stroke of Naga. It will require perseverance and dedication — traits that you have in abundance, Your Grace."

"Phila?"

"Yes?"

I pulled at the sheets. "I don't think I can do this alone."

Phila smiled at me. "You are wise to know it. Those who seek to do everything themselves cannot hope to succeed."

"Then you'll help me?"

"As much and as often as I can," Phila said. "This I swear."

My eyes felt heavy, and the bed was warm. Phila had made me feel safe, and now I was falling asleep. "Thank you, Phila."

She smiled one last time. "It's my pleasure, Your Grace. Sleep well."


End file.
